A passion for oil energizes Venezuela

The courtyard inside Venezuela’s legislative palace rumbled like a baseball stadium on opening day. Hundreds of demonstrators, bused in from the farthest reaches of the country, surrounded the congress, holding banners and chanting pro-government slogans.

But when a towering suit-clad figure stepped from a vehicle and headed towards the entrance, the crowd burst into an uproar befitting an all-star pitcher. This passion was reserved for none other than Rafael Ramirez, energy minister and president of Venezuela’s state oil company.

HoustonChronicle